Åsa Sjöström (1976, Sweden) is a staff photographer at Sydsvenskan and is represented by Moment Agency. In 2002 she graduated from Nordens Fotoskola and has since been working for several major Swedish Daily Newspapers. Her work has been awarded first Prize in the World Press Photo and she has been awarded numerous prizes in the Swedish Picture of The Year Award. Two times she has been nominated for the Swedish Red Cross Journalist Award and received several grants for her commitment when she is documenting the intimacy of people. She has been published in National Geographic and exhibited her work in various galleries. She is based in Sweden.

About the Photograph:

“I took this picture for an assignment after one of many shootings in Malmo a couple of months ago. We wanted to see and hear from the young people whose lives are being effected by the violence and also the recently arrested serial killer who is responsible for killing immigrants. We ended up visiting a local high school in a vulnerable neighborhood and stayed with the youths for four days to cover the story. The first day I didn’t shoot any pictures. Many of the students don´t trust adults but at the same time are also carrying dreams and longing for a steady future. 15 year old Burak Selman gives his youth recreation instructor Py Villablanca a friendly hug. At the same time another student shapes his hand like a shooting gun and points his fingers towards her head. The students like their recreation leader but don’t easily trust their teachers ‘Don’t talk to her, she works for the authority‘, she often hears them say.”

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Johan Bävman (b. 1982, Sweden) grew up in the southern part of Sweden and is now based in Malmö where he works for the daily newspaper Sydsvenskan. He also works on long term projects when time allows. Johan recently won The Unicef Picture of the Year Award for his story about Albinos in Ghana, Africa. He received a bachelor’s degree in photojournalism from the Nordic school of photojournalism in Stockholm. Johan has received awards from World press Photo, Swedish photo of the Year, POYI and the Lumix Festival for young Photojournalism coming up in Hanover this June. He is a new member of the Moment photography agency.

About the Photograph:

“This picture was part of an assignment at the Nordic school of Photography. It was about summer camps for city children. I was there for two days and wanted to remember my own childhood and also understand how it feels when you are away from your family for a couple of weeks. The summer camps are intended to relieve pressure from hard working parents in the summer time. A time for them to have a vacation away from their children. The children who attend camp are often from the concrete suburbs and are not used to being out in nature. For a couple of weeks each summer they find new friends and get to learn about themselves. Some children look back at this time as the best summer of their lives.”

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David Bacher (b. 1976, USA) studied at the University of Virginia, where he completed a double major in anthropology and economics, subjects that began to shape his views of the socio-economic issues facing the world today. With the idea of becoming a professional photographer in mind, David moved to Aarhus, Denmark in 2004 to attend a six month international course in photojournalism at the Danish School of Journalism. During his stay he interned at the newspaper Politiken in Copenhagen and at a commercial photography studio. Following these studies, David moved to Paris, France where he interned with the VII Photo agency. Since 2005, David has been working as a freelance photographer for individuals, corporations, and magazines.

About the Photograph:

“Several times a year, reindeer are brought together in corals for various reasons. During the winter, Sami villagers separate their reindeer families from the large herd. The work is intense, often lasting several days in sub-zero temperatures. These photos reflect the dream-like atmosphere that appears around two pm under a mixture of ambient and artificial light. I work with a wide angle lens in order to bring the viewer into the coral and close to the animals. The images are partially blurred intentionally, using a slow shutter speed, to show the frantic movements of the reindeer. The colors are natural, untouched by digital manipulation, presenting the viewer with images that may be seen as paintings.”

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I thought this would make an interesting post following the one from yesterday.

Elin Berge was born in Stockholm, Sweden, She began her career in 1999 as a photographer for a local newspaper. Elin continued working as a feature photographer at the Swedish Daily News and in 2006 joined Moment. As a freelancer she has been published in most of Sweden’s major newspapers and magazines. Elin is also working on long-term book projects and exhibitions.

About the Photograph:

“The question if the Muslim veil was going to be allowed in public schools caused a huge debate in Sweden in 2003, when two young girls in Gothenburg came to school dressed in their black niqab. Is the veil a symbol of female oppression? Everyone seemed to have an opinion. This is a story about the girls everyone was talking about. I took the photos between 2003-2005. It became my first photo book and a touring exhibition that has been shown in seven cities in Sweden so far. ”

”When I was fourteen I took the veil off for eight months. I wanted to try something new, change myself a bit. It was after I’d been to Lebanon; I was so affected by the girls there. Most of them didn’t wear the veil and they were even more into fashion than the girls in Sweden. I wanted to feel how it’s like to be all about the looks myself, like other young people. People said I became wilder without the veil, and I did stuff that’s not allowed within Islam. I knew it was wrong. Mom got sad, and dad too, but they couldn’t force me. When I took the veil off, it was like the protecting wall I had around myself just collapsed. I experienced things that I’d never experienced before. Things that other girls experience all the time. Once there was some guys that said: Look at the sex object! when I passed by. I felt nude, not free. But still, I wanted to be dressed like that because I thought it was sexy and cool. I wasn’t happy. Something were missing, I felt like there was a whole in my heart.” — Zena 15 years old

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About...

Photographer and photo editor Geoffrey Hiller has created Verve Photo to feature photographs and interviews by the finest contemporary image makers today. Verve Photo is a reminder of the power of the still image. Verve Photo will also point you to new photo agencies, publications, and inspiring multimedia projects.